


Champion

by BlackStatic



Series: Pokémon [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters SPECIAL | Pokemon Adventures, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Preciousmetalshipping, Rating May Change, Warnings May Change, additional characters later, characters gradually age, huntershipping - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-26
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-11 06:00:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7879258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackStatic/pseuds/BlackStatic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[HIATUS/DISCONTINUED]</p><p>Staring at the calendar always filled Gold with a sense of dread. He knew there were people who hadn’t seen their parents in years - backpackers, rangers and ace trainers to name a few - but they would at least have a pokégear with them to make a phone call while they were on the road, exchange a few stories of their travels and how many adventures they’d been on, relive what memories had been created and hold those close until the next call.</p><p>Gold didn’t have any memories to call upon. He had blocked out his childhood years ago and writing a new life for himself wasn’t easy.</p><p>===</p><p>A story of Gold's struggles with PTSD and the journey to become that which he feels he'll never achieve.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Father's Day

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'd. First pokémon fic published on AO3, but not my first pokémon writing (I've done the odd share of roleplays and fics way back when, but I doubt these really count). Either way, please forgive if anything seems off in regards to characterisation. I'm only up to volume 15 of pokéspe so I only really have the RBY and GSC arcs to work off. 
> 
> NOTE: Gold starts his journey at 11 in this fic, but will gradually age to 18 as the story progresses. For those showing concern, rest assured there will be NO underage smut anywhere in this fic because I don't condone NSFW writing with minors. Anything of that nature, should it be written, will come after the characters have matured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: changed up a little something in first chapter to make sense in a later chapter.

Today was Father’s Day.

Staring at the calendar always filled Gold with a sense of dread. He knew there were people who hadn’t seen their parents in years - backpackers and ace trainers to name a few - but they would at least have a pokégear with them to make a phone call while they were on the road, exchange a few stories of their travels and how many adventures they’d been on, relive what memories had been created and hold those close until the next call.

Gold didn’t have any memories to call upon. He had blocked out his childhood years ago and writing a new life for himself wasn’t easy.

His existence was on autopilot. Wake up, get dressed, check the day of the week, fix his hair up, retrieve his cap from Ataro then walk downstairs to greet his housemate for breakfast. Feed the other pokémon, talk about plans for the day, try not to watch the cigarette ash fall into her coffee cup.

_Try not to pay attention to the smoke._

“Ethan, honey.” Her words filtered through the smog. “Your food is going cold.”

He shook the sleep out of his eyes and tried to remember where he was. The dining table. A plate of toast and a glass of milk. The bread was more burnt than usual today; black around the edges, to be honest. Gold knew why. He forced a smile onto his face and took a bite, instantly regretting the dry texture on his tongue. He convinced himself to swallow and soon washed the taste town in a single gulp. At least the cold hitting his throat woke him up. The aipom on the chair next to him seemed to smirk as he pinched the bridge of his nose, rubbing out the brain freeze.

“I’m not all that hungry.” Gold finally mumbled, trying to ignore concerned look on his mother’s face. “Might go out with Ataro for a while though, get a little fresh air.”

“Alright, just make sure you come back before dark alright? And remember to—”

“Stay out of the tall grass?” He rolled his eyes. “I know what to do if I see a pokémon, ma. We live in the Poké House, remember?”

That got a chuckle out of her at least. 

***

It was on this day, six years ago, that Gold’s father had been called out to a rescue mission in Mahogany Town. Nobody knew what started the destruction on Route 43, only that many lives were at risk. Trainers from across the region had swarmed to the forest to save the town residents, evacuating most families to Ecruteak City. It was through the combined efforts of the nation’s best rescue teams that nobody was hurt. 

Nobody, that is, except for the one man and his poliwrath who went racing head first into the inferno. The last thing Gold could remember was hearing the piercing cry of a pokémon, before the radio's emergency broadcast crackled into an ominous, hissing static.

***

The only static now though was the numb baseless thoughts drifting through his head, fingers tracing small rippling patterns across the surface of a large pond on the edge of New Bark town. It was still quite early in the morning and as the sun rose over the Eastern ranges, orange glow reflected on the water, Gold found himself stretched out on the grassy banks using his childhood pet as a pillow. For a few fleeting moments, the boy found himself daydreaming, a previous week of sleepless nightmares forgotten to the serene calm of dawn. 

He closed his eyes and immersed himself beneath the flowing currents, floating in a silent void of peace and tranquility. The scene flickered into existence once more - a fuzzy blur of a shape, resting on the opposite bank, simply watching him with mutual understanding and appreciation for the cooling embrace of the planet’s lifeblood. The place where all pokémon originated, the point of origin, the land before land, the home of those who experienced the flow of time at a different pace.

The sudden scramble of four tiny feet clambering over his face. 

His headrest let out a startled cry and scrambled up a tree. Moments later, a gratingly unwelcome voice pierced through the hazy bubble that had been Gold’s meditation. With a grunt, he pushed himself into a sitting position and noticed the empty pokéball lying next to him.

“Wait!” The noise stumbled into sight. “Where did you go? Come back!”

He youngster wore a bright yellow shirt - a little too bright for Gold’s mood - and a complimentary pair of blue shorts, with sneakers one size too large and shoelaces left untied on his right foot. The older boy was going to comment on the trip hazard, but decided better of it as he caught the determined expression on the stranger’s face.

The annoying thing that ran over Gold’s face earlier was a rattata, huddled in a patch of grass with its beady eyes staring out at the unwelcome children. As he met the rodent’s hostile gaze, a hand tapped him on the shoulder. Gold jumped at the sudden contact until he saw the boy, holding out his cap. It must have fallen off in the scuffle.

“Is this yours? I think you dropped it.”

“Uh, yeah.” Gold quickly took the hat. “That rattata ran over my face.”

“So you saw it?” The boy brightened up, scanning the area. “Sorry to wake you! He ran away from me.”

Gold rolled his eyes, combing his fingers through his hair as he adjusted the snapback on his head. _That much was obvious._

“I really want a pokémon,” the boy continued “but my mama says I’m too young. I don’t care though! I went to bed really early so I could capture one first thing, but no one told me it would be this hard… and rattata looks so cool as well… oh, my name’s Joey! What’s yours? How old are you? I turn seven today!”

“Gold.” Rubbing his eyes as though it would make the kid talk slower, Gold wearily got to his feet. It was too early in the morning for this. “And I’m eleven.”

“That’s a weird name.” Joey laughed, innocently ignorant to his elder’s bitter mood. “Do you have a pokémon? How long have you had—rattata!”

The timid lavender shape had crawled out from its hiding place and was now sitting at the base of the tree, sharing a berry with the larger monkey. Rattata glared out the corner of its eye before scuttling back into hiding.

“Don’t talk so loud.” Gold instructed. “You’ll scare it. Wild pokémon aren’t used to people like that aipom is.”

“…oh.”

“Ataro grew up around people his whole life.” The monkey ambled over and climbed its way up the human’s leg to perch on his shoulder. “But I haven’t taught him how to battle yet.”

“Why not?” Joey asked, reaching to pet Ataro on the head. The pokémon offered its tail to shake hands. “You look pretty tough.”

Gold found the compliment actually cheered him up a little.

“Because my mother doesn’t want us getting hurt.” He mumbled. “And Ataro isn’t my pokémon.”

“Oh, okay!” The youngster smiled. “Why is his name Ataro?”

“It’s a nickname.” Well, _that_ small moment of happiness went away pretty quickly. “My dad chose it.”

Joey saw him turn away and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, not quite understanding the drop in Gold’s mood. He wasn’t going to let his new friend have a bad day though, so his seven year old little brain started trying to think up what to say. 

“Hey, it doesn’t mean you can’t still have your own pokémon right?” 

Gold shrugged. His dad had left most of his team to his mother so it wasn’t like he had a shortage or anything. 

“Well if that’s the case, Joey…” he finally said. “You could still get your own one day. Maybe Professor Elm can give you a rattata from his lab when you’re older.”

Joey’s eyes lit up. 

“Yeah!” He beamed, smile radiant and infectious. “Thanks Gold, I’m gonna tell my mama that!” 

“Speaking of.” Gold cut him off “You should probably head back before she wonders where you are.”

“Oh, right!” The realisation hit Joey like a tonne of bricks. “She’ll be worried sick! Okay Gold, I’ll see you around! Maybe you can watch me battle some time!”

And just like that, the boy was off. Gold sighed in relief, flopping back down onto the grass before realising he had sat on the empty, discarded pokéball that had been left behind. Various thoughts began to turn over in his head.

Come to think of it… Joey was right. None of his family’s pokémon were actually his own. Ataro was a close friend and guardian, but he didn’t think that a babysitter monkey really counted. He considered the youngster’s words carefully before the aipom finally nudged his shoulder, seeming to catch on. 

With an annoyed grunt, Gold looked up at - not his - pokémon and noticed Ataro gesturing towards the direction of Professor Elm’s lab.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You aren't gonna know what that mysterious shape in Gold's meditation is until many, many chapters later. And it's not gonna be what you think it is~
> 
> As a side note... Joey is a precious innocent little smol and here we have Mr Bitchygrump trying not to shatter his dreams. Good job Gold, A+, have an ironically/conveniently coloured star to reward your extreme perserverance :'D


	2. Apphrehension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting in had been a piece of cake but as he paced the cold grey floor of the empty lab, the intruder began to realise that his objective wasn't going to be as easy as he had originally intended.

Elm paced around the room uneasily.

Something was... _off_. It was the only word the professor could use to describe the tension in the air this morning. The egg – he was pretty sure that's what it was – had been taken home by his assistant that night, as he was preoccupied with his notes and should his visitor arrive early today, he wanted to be well organised. As he went through the mental checklist of preparations, Elm couldn't help but feel that he had forgotten something else important. The egg was safe though, so what could be eating away at him right now?

He heard a faint sizzling noise and grimaced at the burnt hole in his shirt, before heaving a bewildered sigh of relief. He had probably forgotten about the ironing was all. Old age getting to him. Taking a new top from his dresser, he glanced over at a photo on his bedside table and smiled in nostalgic amusement. At least he hadn't forgotten his adventures.

***

Getting in had been a piece of cake but as he paced the cold grey floor of the empty lab, the intruder began to realise that his objective wasn't going to be as easy as he had originally intended. It wasn't that there were security cameras – his sneasel had successfully frozen those over before he came in – or even that business hours were soon to begin. What bothered the boy most was that this behaviour was against the law.

Silver knew what he was doing was wrong; stealing from a pokémon lab was a punishable offence that meant turning in his trainer card – again, obtained illegally – and revoking any chance of living a normal civilian life. But it wasn't like he had a life anyway, so he figured taking the risk was somehow worth it. You have to take risks once in a while, right?

The three orbs of fate that sat before him on the desk seemed to disagree with this statement. In the dim morning light he could barely see through the translucent plastic casing of each sphere but as the thief reached to grab the one closest to him, he peered at the pokémon inside and frowned. It must have sensed him coming and grown uneasy, judging by how it now curled up defensively, peering out from under the leaf covering its head. With a scoff, Silver put the pitiful thing back down. He wasn't one for grass types and either way, it wasn't worth traumatising the thing if it couldn't stand to hold its own during battle. _Weak_ , he thought to himself as he reached for the next ball.

In that moment, Silver felt a shiver go down his spine. The creature inside the pokéball glared back at him with a strange sense of menace which, though the animal couldn't harm him in this state, instantly set the boy on edge. If he released the pokémon now it could probably cause him serious danger, but if Silver wanted a partner that would work alongside him in his criminal activities, maybe this one wasn't such a good idea.

As he held the tiny shrew in his hand, watching how it silently scrutinized him, Silver began to feel just as small. He was having second thoughts about this whole ordeal. He already had his sneasel, right? But without a second pokémon, his motives were at a major disadvantage. As he glanced over to his sentry patiently keeping watch at the door, he swallowed his anxiety with a nervous gulp and returned the ball back to its resting place, reaching out his hand towards the third and final option. _You've come this far, Silver, don't bail out now._

Just then, the boy heard a knock at the door and froze, paralysed with fear.

“I'm here! Did I turn up too early?” 

It was an old man, bright and chipper despite his age. Silver was sure he'd recognised the voice from somewhere before but no name appeared through the the haze of anxiety clouding his thoughts. The accent definitely wasn't from Johto, though...

As he stood silently in place, dissociative in his panic, the theif failed to notice one of the pokéballs slowly rolling towards the edge of the table. Before sneasel could alert him, the sound of cyndaquil hitting the hard tile floor rung out through the emptiness of the room.

_Oh no._

“Hello?” The man rattled at the doorknob, only to find it was locked. “Is everything okay in there?”

_Crap._ Silver felt himself begin to hyperventilate. This wasn't meant to happen. He was supposed to have grabbed a pokémon, snuck back out and high-tailed it to the next town. But no, this annoying little shrew had gone and blown it for him. _Thank Mew I didn't take that one, the stupid little--_

He didn't have time to dwell on the past. The man would find a way into the lab at any moment. In his haste, Silver snatched up one of the pokéballs on the table, darting towards the window with his sneasel close behind him.

Glancing over his shoulder, he caught a glimpse of the man and began to sprint faster, lungs burning with each step. As he fled, totodile gripped tightly in his gloved hand, Silver prayed to each and every god he knew that Professor Oak hadn't seen him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took much longer than intended! I don't have much experience writing from Silver's point of view, let alone Elm or Oak.
> 
> Truth be told, I'm not really sure how to go about the pacing of this fic. After the first encounter between Silver and Gold, I'm thinking I may put in a time skip??? Just have to see what happens I guess.


	3. Weakness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something dark burned inside of Gold. Something that scared even him. And yet the words kept coming.

“Absolutely not.”

The boy felt his heart sink.

“But ma!” He protested, fists clenched. “I'm eleven! I could have gotten my starter _last year_!”

“And I'm not letting you.” She replied sternly. “It's much too dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt.”

There was that tone Gold always hated. The one that made him feel his opinions were worthless, that nobody cared what he had to say. He grit his teeth until he felt one of them chip and the pain searing through his jaw finally released the bottled up emotion inside of him.

“By the birds! I can look after myself!” 

“Language, Ethan!”

“Stop calling me Ethan!” Tears brimmed at the corners of his eyes. “That name makes me feel weak, Ma! And I'm not! I'm going to be as strong as dad! And nothing you say can stop--”

His mother snapped, slamming her coffee down on the kitchen counter. The young poliwag sitting by the television squealed in surprise and scrambled towards the front door. As he saw the fury in her eyes, Gold felt like doing the same.

“Ethan Hibiki!” Her scream rung out through the kitchen. “You listen to me! I will _not_ lose the only thing I have left of him! You are _not_ getting a trainer card and that is _final!_ ”

“Did you speak to dad like that?!” 

Something dark burned inside of Gold. Something that scared even him. And yet the words kept coming. 

“Did you decide what he could and couldn't do with his life?” He barked, spitting his words at her. “Just like you're doing with me now? Is this the kind of love that holds our family together? Stopping me from living out my dreams?”

“...your father chose that name for you.”

A tense stillness followed afterwards. She turned away, trying to hide her rage. Of all the days it could have happened. Of all the times for she could break, it had to be Father's Day. And it had to be her own son.

Gold felt lightheaded, steadying himself against the bench. _My... dad?_

“Ma... I... I'm sor--”

“Just go.” Her voice was weak, lifeless. “I can't stop you. It's not like I have anything left anyway.”

With nothing left to say to her, Gold picked up his bag and pool cue – the only items that had any meaning to him now – and sadly stepped out the front door, leaving his mother alone with her tears.

 _You messed up,_ he told himself as his slow walking turned to blind running. _You messed up, Ethan. And it's all your fault._

Ataro chased after him, followed by a scared and confused poliwag.

***

He was running from a lot of things. But no matter how his lungs burned, the blood pounding hot through his brain... the cold, numb images pulsed in his memory; an invisible frostbite against his heels, pulling him back into a place of anxiety and regret. Every step stung him, but he had succeeded on his first path to freedom. 

Maybe he couldn't erase his childhood, but maybe he could still start over...

...by painfully crossing paths with another hurting boy.

***

Gold took a few moments to recover from the sudden collision. When he tried to untangle himself from the mess of legs and hair, he was met with a loud cry of pain.

“Mew's sake, stop pulling!” 

“It's not my fault it gets everywhere!”

“Do you ever, you know, _cut it_?”

“Look, if you stop moving for at least five seconds then maybe we could--”

They paused in their mad flailing, trying to detatch from each other. That was when they accidentally made eye contact and Gold found himself staring into the pale piercing gaze... and in that moment, something felt strangely familiar, almost comforting... 

Silver was the first to pull away, venom dripping from his every movement, as he shoved Gold backwards and got to his feet. That warm comforting feeling was gone, replaced by bruises and dirt marks.

“Stay out of my way.” He growled. “I don't have time for weak kids like you.”

“Yeah, screw you too!” The other boy glared as the stranger took off. “I bet you're pretty useless yourself!”

As they went their separate ways, neither wanted to admit how the other's words had stung them. Gold took a moment to contain his anger. _What a jerk._ He was just about to get up and leave before he noticed a small plastic object on the ground in front of him.

The boy's trainer card.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I nearly cried writing this chapter I'm not even joking. I swear the angst is going to lift soon, guys :c


End file.
